15{40 ,16{40 -Lower alkoxymethylidene-digitoxins

ABSTRACT

Compounds of the formula   WHEREIN R is n-alkyl of 1 to 4 carbon atoms, which are useful as cardiotonics.

United States Patent Liisel et al.

[451 Sept. 23, 1975 l5,l6-LOWER ALKOXYMETHYLIDENE-DIGITOXINS Inventors: Walter Liisel, lngelheim am Rhein;

Werner Traunecker, Munster-Sarmsheim; Wolfgang Hoefke, Budenheim, all of Germany Assignee:

Boehringer lngelheim GmbH,

Ingelheim am Rhein, Germany Filed:

Appl. No.: 517,909

Foreign Application Priority Data Oct. 29, 1973 Germany 2354119 52 U.S. c1 260/210.5; 424/182 [51] 1111.01? C07J 53/00 [58] Field of Search 260/210.5

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,476,742 11/1969 Voigtlander et a1. 260/2105 3,804,825 4/1974 Losel et a1. 260/2105 Primary Examiner Johnnie R. Brown Assistant Examiner-Cary B. Owens Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Hammond & Littell [57] ABSTRACT Compounds of the formula c11 CH3 wherein R is n-alkyl of 1 to 4 carbon atoms, which are useful as cardiotonics.

4 Claims, No Drawings l'.lh'-L()WER sium acid sulfate, borontrifluoridc etherate or pyridine A L!(( X YME"lHYHDENE-DIGIIOXINS hydrochloride; and acid cation exchangers, such as sulhi '"wcmim whims mwcl fonated condensation products of phenols and formalalkoxymethylidene-digitoxins and a method ofprepary Sulmnillcd P y y exchimgfli ing these cumpounds 5 alyst may be provided in homogeneous or heteroge- More particularly. the present invention relates to a neous phase, but homogeneous catalysis with toluenenovel class of digitoxin derivatives represented by the filllffinic is Preferredfu l The starting compounds. that is. digitoxin as well as CH 11 0 3 CH3 3 wherein R is n-alkyl of l to 4 carbon atoms. the orthoformates of the formula H, are known, readily The compounds embraced by formula I above are accessible compounds. prepared by reacting dtgitoxin with an orthoformate of The following examples illustrate the present inventhe fmmuia tion and will enable others skilled in the art to understand it more completely. lt should be understood. OR however, that the invention is not limited solely to the H (In particular examples given below.

OR EXAMPLE I i I t l5 l6-Methox meth lidene-di itoxin wherein R has the same meanings as in formula I, in the y y g presence of an acid catalyst. The orthoformic acid tri- 5 g Ofdigimxi" were Stirred into 21 Solution Cunsist n-alkyl-ester of the formula II is provided in equimolar ing of I00 ml of tetrahydrofuran, ml of trimethyl or-' amount or in excess the o f bl i a ratio f thoformate and 50 mgm of ptoluenesulfonic acid, and up to l() mols per mol of glycoside. the mixture'was allowed to stand at room temperature. There-action may if desired he erformed in the The reaction had gone to completion after about 20 presence of a wide variety of inert solvent media, such minutes, whereupon the reaction mixture was neutralas chloroform, methylene chloride. tetrahydrofuran. 40 ized with triethylamine. then evaporated to dryness. dioxane or mixtures of any two or more of these, prefand the residue was crystallized from chloroform/ether, erably mixtures of tetrahydrofuran and dioxane. yielding 4.5 gm (about percent of theory) of the To the extent that the stability of the glycoside startcompound of the formula CH H30 3 3 3 CH3 H ing compound permits it, the reaction temperature is 60 which had a melting point of 190C. not critical; however, a reaction temperature between 0 and 50C., and particularly room temperature, is hxAMPLE 2 f d l5',l6'-Ethoxymethylidene-digitoxin Suitable catalysts are acid substances in the broadest A mixture consisting of 5 gm of digitoxin, 5 ml of trisense. Particular examples include inorganic and or- M ethyl orthoformate, ml of dioxane and 1 gm of a ganic acids, such as hydrohalic acids, sulfuric acid, perdry styrene-divinyl-benzene copolymer ion-exchange ehloric acid. toluenesulfonic acid methanesulfonic resin (eg. Dowex W 50) was stirred for about I hour acid or triehloroacetic acid; Lewis acids. such as potasat room temperature, whereupon the reaction had gone 3 to completionThe k n-exchanger was then removed by suction filtration, thefiltrate evaporated to dryness, and the residuclwas crystallized from chloroform/ethcr, yielding 3.8 gm .(about 70 percent of theory) of l5",l6- -ethoxymethylidene-digitoxin which had a melting point of l93 l95 "C.

EXAMPLES I l 5",]'wn-Butoxymethylidene-digitoxin 5 gm of digitoxin were reacted with 5 ml of tri-n-butyl orthoformate'in ml of dioxane in the presence of 70 mgm of p-toluenesulfonic acid in a manner analogous to that described in Example I, the reaction mixture was worked up in analogous fashion, and the evaporation residue was recrystallized form/ether. 3.6 gm (about 65 percent oftheory) of IS- ,l6'n-butoxymethylidene-digitoxin, m. p. l95l98C., were obtained.

The compounds of the present invention, that is, those embraced by formula l above, have useful pharmacodynamic properties. More particularly, they exhibit cardiotonic activities in warm-blooded animals, suchas dogs and guinea pigs, and are therefore useful for the treatment of cardiac insufficiency.

it is well known that the practical utilization of cardiac glycosides depends to a large extent upon their secondary qualities, i.e. their specific behavior in the animal organism, such as upon absorption and eliminastrictedto narrow limits for the above-mentioned reasonsiMore'over, itis known that the 'esterification' of such cardiac glycosides may often bring about a substantial reduction of the positive inotropic activity which not only prevents a satisfactory utilization of the glycoside due to the necessary'highdosages', but under unfavorable circumstances also introduces the danger of metabolization in the gastrointestinal tract which may easily lead to unintentional over-dosages and even to concentration levels within the toxic range.

The compounds of the present invention combine to a surprising extent all of the desirable property criteria which are expected of a therapeutically useful cardiac glycoside with respect to effectiveness and safetyv Thus, the compoundsembraced by formula I above retain the practically complete absorption property of digitoxin and have an elimination rate within an optifrom chloromum range, which completely eliminates the danger of cumulative effects, but on the other hand makes it possible to maintain an optimum blood concentration level over short or long periods of time, as required.

The extraordinarily high stability of the compounds of this invention in an alkaline medium must be emphaglfe dients in customary dosage unit compositions, that is, compositions in dosage unit form consisting essentially of an inert pharmaceutical carrier and one effective dosage unit ofthe active ingredient, such as tablets, coated pills, capsules, wafers, powders, solutions, suspensions, emulsions, syrups; suppositories and the like. One cl'lcctivc cardiotonic dosage unit of the compounds according to the present invention is from 0.00083 to 0,084 mgrn/kg' body weight, preferably from 0.002 to 0.034 mgm/kg body weight.

The following examples illustrate a few pharmaceutical dosage unit compositions comprising a compound of the present invention as an active ingredient and represent the best modes contemplated of putting the invention into practical use. The parts are parts by weight unless otherwise specified.

EXAMPLE Tablets The tablet composition is compounded from the following ingredients:

l5 l6'-Mctltoxymethylidcne-digitoxin 0.25 parts Lactose 85.75 Potato starch 30.0 Gelatin 3.0 Magncsium stcaratc L0 1 Total l20.0 parts Preparation:

The glycoside is intensively milled with ID times its weight of lactose, the milled mixture is admixed with the remaining amount of the lactose and the potato starch, the resulting mixture is moistened with an aqueous 10 percent solution of thegelatin, the moist mass is forcedthrough a 1.5 mm-mesh screen, and the resultinggranulate is dried at 40C. The dry granulate is again passed through a l. mm-mesh screen, admixed with the magnesium stearate, and the composition is compressed into l20 mgm-tablets in a conventional tablet making machine. Each tablet contains 0.25 mgm of the glycoside and is an oral dosage unit composition with effective cardiotonic action.

EXAMPLE 5 Coated Pills The pill core composition is compounded from the following ingredients:

l5 l o'-Ethoxymcthylidcnc-digitoxin 0.25 parts Lactose 32.25 (orn starch l5.00 Polyvinylpyrrolidone 2.00 Magnesium stearatc 0.50

Total 50.00 parts Preparation:

The glycoside is intensively milled with 10 times its weight of lactose, the milled mixture is admixed with' the remainder of the lactose and the cornstarch, the mixture is moistened with an aqueous 15 percent solution of thepolyvinylpyrrolidone, the moist mass is forced through a l mm-mesh screen, and the resulting granulate is driedat 40C. and again passed through the screen. The dry granulate is admixed w-ith the magnesium stearate, and the. resulting composition is compressedinto 50 mgm-pill cores which are subsequently coated in conventionaLmanner with a thin shell consisting essentially of a mixture of sugar and talcum and tinally polished with beeswax. Each coated pill contains 0.25 mgm of the glycoside and is an oral dosage unit composition with effective cardiotonic action.

EXAMPLE 6 Drop Solution The solution is compounded from the following ingredients:

l5 l 6-Ethoxymethylidene-digitoxin 0.0125 pans Saccharin sodium 0.3 Srbic acid 0.1

Ethanol 30.0 Flavoring 1 .0 Distilled water q.s.ad 100.0

Preparation:

EXAMPLE 7 Hypodermic Solution The solution is compounded from the following ingredients:

l5 l 6-Methoxymethylidene-digitoxin 025 parts Polyethyleneglycol 600 700.0 Tartaric acid 150.0

parts Distilled water q.s.ad 3000.0 by vol.

Preparation:

The tartaric acid, the polyethyleneglycol and the glycoside are successively dissolved in a sufficient amount H30 cs CH H H RO H of distilled water to the indicated volume and then filtered until free from suspended matter. The filtrate is filled into white 3 ml-ampules in an atmosphere of nitrogen, which are then sterilized for minutes at 120C. and sealed. Each ampule contains 0.25 mgm of the glycoside, and the contents thereof are an injectable dosage unit composition with effective cardiotonic union.

EXAMPLE 8 Suppositories The suppository composition is compounded from the following ingredients:

l5',l6'-n-Butoxymethylidcne- 0.25 parts digitoxin Lactose 4.75 Suppository base (cg. cocoa butter) 1695.0

Total 1700.0 parts Preparation:

The glycoside and the lactose are admixed and the mixture is milled. The milled mixture is uniformly stirred with the aid of an immersion homogenizer into the suppository base, which had previously been melted and cooled to 40C. The resulting composition is cooled to 37C., and 1700 mgm-portions thereof are poured into cooled suppository molds and allowed to harden therein. Each suppository contains 0.25 mgm of the glycoside and is a rectal dosage unit composition with effective cardiotonic action.

Analogous results are obtained when any one of the other l5,16'-alkoxymethylidene-digitoxins embraced by formula I is substituted for the particular acylated glycoside in Examples 4 through 8. Likewise, the amount of active ingredient in these illustrative examples may be varied to achieve the dosage unit range set forth above, and the amounts and nature of the inert pharmaceutical carrier ingredients may be varied to meet particular requirements.

While the present invention has been illustrated with the aid of certain specific embodiments thereof, it will be readily apparent to others skilled in the art that the invention is not limited to these particular embodiments, and that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A compound of the formula wherein R is n-alkyl of l to 4 carbon atoms.

2. The compound of claim 1 which is l5',l6'- methoxymethylidene-digitoxin.

3. The compound of claim 1 which is 15',l6'- ethoxymethylidene-digitoxin.

4. The compound of claim 1 which is 15',16-nbutoxymethylidene -digitoxin.

IF i It 8 

1. A COMPOUND OF THE FORMULA
 2. The compound of claim 1 which is 15'',16''-methoxymethylidene-digitoxin.
 3. The compound of claim 1 which is 15'',16''-ethoxymethylidene-digitoxin.
 4. The compound of claim 1 which is 15'',16''-n-butoxymethylidene-digitoxin. 